an education activist with a knack for drawing attention and controversy. she made the cover of "time" back in 2008 when heading the d.c. public schools and left that job under a bit of fire after dismissing 36 principals and ending teacher tenure. now head of a nationwide organization students first, michelle has a new book out called "radical" and joins us now. good morning, michelle. >> good morning. >> you have this report on every state in the nation and how they're doing on education. and you are a tough grader. no a's, a couple of "b" minuses and more than two-thirds received a "d" or "f" overall. that is a pretty dismal assistment of where things stand. >> it shows how far we have to go. we as students first strongly believe there's no shortage of educators out there who are innovative and wanting to do the right thing and also know that all of our kids can learn at the highest levels when they're in the right school environment. the problem is that these educators and kids are trapped in a school system that -- and a bureaucracy that's really drive